A scroll compressor is a certain type of compressor that is used to compress refrigerant for such applications as refrigeration, air conditioning, industrial cooling and freezer applications, and/or other applications where compressed fluid may be used. Such prior scroll compressors are known, for example, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,530 to Hasemann; U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,551, to Kammhoff et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,070 to Kammhoff et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,046 to Kammhoff et al., all of which are assigned to a Bitzer entity closely related to the present assignee. As the present disclosure pertains to improvements that can be implemented in these or other scroll compressor designs, the entire disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,398,530; 7,112,046; 6,814,551; and 6,960,070 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
As is exemplified by these patents, scroll compressors conventionally include an outer housing having a scroll compressor contained therein. A scroll compressor includes first and second scroll compressor members. A first compressor member is typically arranged stationary and fixed in the outer housing. A second scroll compressor member is moveable relative to the first scroll compressor member in order to compress refrigerant between respective scroll ribs which rise above the respective bases and engage in one another. Conventionally the moveable scroll compressor member is driven about an orbital path about a central axis for the purposes of compressing refrigerant. An appropriate drive unit, typically an electric motor, is provided usually within the same housing to drive the movable scroll member.
In such scroll compressor assemblies and other such equipment, counterweights are often employed to counteract the weight imbalance about the rotational axis. For example, in scroll compressors, the movable scroll compressor body and the offset eccentric section on the drive shaft create weight imbalance relative to the rotational axis. As a result, upper and lower counterweights are often provided for balancing purposes to reduce vibration and noise of the overall assembly by internally balancing and/or cancelling out inertial forces. One difficulty associated with such counterweights is precisely locating such counterweights at a predetermined angular position to correctly counteract the weight imbalance created by the movable scroll member. Precise location of the counterweight is desirable so as to create a center of mass of the rotating components that is aligned with the central rotational axis. The present invention is directed towards improvements in mounting in location of such counterweights to drive shafts.